He found that his keys were still in his pocket. He paused before he turned the lock, afraid to open the case and find that his guitar was smashed within. He took a deep breath and turned the key. The lid sprang open, and his Les Paul gleamed in the bright Fiji sun.
Jessi wrapped her arms around his neck, and happy laughter trickled from her throat. Angel smiled as wide as the ocean. Tommy just stared down at the instrument and saw a huge chunk of his life. The case took the brunt of the impact, but his Les Paul stood up to the test. He slowly took the guitar from its case and cradled it in his hands. He instinctually played the intro that signaled the start to one of Immortal Angel’s shows. The throb in his head was suddenly forgotten. Their situation didn’t seem as dismal. That little bit of music from his Les Paul made everything all right.
Jessi and Angel smiled back at him, and the joy in his heart was reflected in their gaze.
“Thank you, A, for saving my guitar. And my wife.” He laughed softly. “Not necessarily in that order.”
Tommy stared up into the setting sun. Rescue planes should have been looking for them by now. The only thing that had been in the sky had been commercial jetliners that flew way too high to notice them. Jessi came up behind him and slid her hand around his waist. “Anything yet?”
“No.” He turned his face to the sky again. “It’s getting dark. I doubt that anyone will come tonight. Tomorrow.” He tried to sound confident. “Tomorrow they’ll come.”
Jessi furrowed her brow and frowned. “Do you think there’s a chance they won’t find us?”
“Not in a million years,” Angel said, joining them at the water’s edge. The charter company knows which island we were headed to. Air traffic had our coordinates. They’ll find us. You have nothing to worry about.”
Jessi pressed her lips together. “Except Tommy.”
Jessi and Angel both turned toward Tommy with worry in their eyes. His head still felt like his brain was too big for his skull, but the bouts of dizziness were getting better. He put his arms around Jessi and Angel and tried to sound positive. “I’ll be fine.”
They returned to the makeshift camp they had set up for the night. The sun set under a ceiling of crimson and magenta and took the warmth of the day with it. The air grew chilly, but all they had between the three of them was one blanket, and Angel still didn’t have a shirt.
“I want you to take this.” Tommy started to lift his shirt over his head to give to Angel, but the movement left him with another session of vertigo.
Angel pulled Tommy’s shirt back down. “I’m fine. Feel the warmth on my skin.” Angel moved closer and slipped his arms around Tommy’s waist. His Latin flesh still radiated from the heat of the sun.
Jessi snuggled next to Tommy’s right, and Angel snuggled to his left, all under the same blanket. It was actually very cozy and romantic, but the weight of the day took its toll on Tommy, and his eyes grew heavy. He pulled the blanket a little higher and Jessi and Angel a little closer. His focus blurred, and he drifted off to sleep leaning against a rock on a deserted island with his wife and his husband.
Tommy woke to a loud clapping in the distance. The wind whipped his hair across his face so he could barely see, but between the strands of gold he could make out the rescue copter stationed several yards away. He leaned back and smiled with relief.
The small group huddled together and waited for the co-pilot and a paramedic to approach. The sun’s rays brought warmth and calmed the goosebumps that rose on Tommy’s flesh.
“Is anyone injured?” the co-pilot shouted over the sound of the propeller.
“My husband hit his head and was knocked unconscious,” Jessi was quick to answer. “And my other husband hurt his ribs.”
The co-pilot gave Jessi a sideways glance, but the paramedic didn’t flinch. He unwound the bandage around Tommy’s head to assess the laceration.
“It’s not a big deal,” Tommy protested. “I barely have a headache anymore.”
“We’ll let the doctors at the hospital determine that.”
“You have a concussion, Mr. Blade, but other than that, you’re stable. “However, we’d like to keep you overnight for observation.”
Tommy just wanted to go home. Jessi was unharmed, but Angel suffered a cracked rib. They were all lucky to be alive, and he wanted to get back to the United States and to his life.
He flung the sheet to the end of the hospital bed and threw his legs over the side. “I can rest at the hotel. My family will be with me, so I won’t be alone.” He looked into the worried eyes of his spouses. “They won’t let me out of their sight, and they’ll bring me back if I show any symptoms.”